Horrible Day
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: [ONESHOT] A, er, SerenityxMai, wow. Why? Because I can... Serenity has a horrible day, poor thing. Please review!


**Disclaimer**: It's raining right now. Isn't that absolutely thrilling?

**A/N**: First of all I'd like to say Welcome! to The Mad Tea Party :) Other than that... Ulp? I honestly don't know about this... Congratulations; you've stumbled upon the strangest thing I've ever written! You have no idea how long it took me to even decide whether to post it or not. I hope the constantly changing point of view, despite being clearly marked, doesn't confuse anybody. It makes my head hurt, and _I _wrote it. In addition, I've played a great deal with the thought of changing the couple, because I generally don't do much yuri, but I finally decided that since I originally came up with the idea with this couple, I ought to just leave it. Plus I'd have to change a few detail in addition to the names, and I'm lazy, so neh. Finally, I don't think I should write author's note, because all I ever do in them is diss the story. (grin) Enjoy!

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Well, hello there. How are you today? My name is Jonouchi Shizuka, and right now I'm completely miserable.

Are you sure you want to know? It's a long story, starting not too long after I left for work. No, it really is a long story; don't you mind walking in the rain with me? Well, if you're sure...

I hate mornings, I really do. I always have; it seems like I'm only just barely in control of what I'm doing until I get my coffee. I could walk right off a balcony and not even notice until... well, y'know. But lately they've come with an added down side. Getting out of bed when Mai... Gosh, I'm blushing, aren't I? Moving on...

So anyway, I get in my car and start driving to work. I'm kind of sleepy still, because I didn't get my coffee until _just_ before I rushed out the door, because I was, uh, busy... Again, moving on. So I'm going around this corner, and, whoops...

_YAAAAAAWN. 'Come on, coffee, kick in...' I wished in my head, weaving as carefully through the morning traffic as my groggy brain would allow me to. Damn slow-pokes; why aren't they in a hurry to get to work? Like I am? Do they all have later shifts, or what? Oh, that I could be so lucky. Tell me again why I decided to take a job that I have to be at by seven for? Why, when I KNEW I would hate it right from the s-_

_SCREEK._

_Well, something like that, anyway. NOW I was awake... And now I understood why everybody else was driving so slow. It was because I was in their way. Because suddenly I was jumping out of my car, into the slight drizzle the forecast said would come and go all day, desperately trying to see if the fender of the COP car I'd bumped into was okay. It looked alright, just a slight bit of paint rubbed off from my own fender. But I was still rushing around to the other side of the car to try and make my apology heard over the traffic. The normal sounds of which were giving way to an increasing amount of horn-honking; what a surprise. The cop is frantically waving for me to get back into my car and get moving, because I'm, duh, holding up traffic. So finally I figure he's more likely to give me a ticket for blocking the traffic than for messing up his bumper, and I do. Some bakayarou gives me the finger in passing. How gentlemanly._

...Yeah, heh, I told you I wasn't a morning person. Well, I finally make it to work, a lovely twenty minutes late between the car incident and, urm, earlier activities... I work in this little book shop on 7th street, you've probably never heard of it. It's called Neko Books. Don't ask me. Though you have to admit, it seems like a lot of book fanatics always have a cat or two... Anyway. So of course my boss is super-pissed, but since there aren't exactly many people who feel a desperate need to stop by an obscure book shop first thing in the morning, I get off okay. Yeah, I really mean it, 'okay'. Comparatively, anyway. Things are only _starting_ to get crappy...

_Once my boss disappeared into the back room that was her office again, my creepy co-worker Johnson breathes a too-loud sigh of relief. "Whew... That was a close one, huh?"_

_I just flash him the most forced smile of all time, and to my disgust, he blushes. Have I mentioned that he's creepy?_

_I gotta get away from this sap... as far away as possible... So, while waiting desperately for a customer to show up, coughwho am I kiddingcough, I start roaming through the shelves and checking to make sure all the books are in order. I love books; I've always wanted to be a writer, but I'm afraid I don't have much talent. If I ever finally get sick of this job enough to quite, I might look for a slot at a library... Anyway, as I wandered within the store, I contemplated how HARD it was to contemplate anything with Johnson breathing down one's neck. Johnson, the smelly, acne-covered, greasy-hair twenty year old who had a horribly obvious crush on me. Yes, this is the reason why I hate my job. That and the getting up early thing... I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice at first when the object of my hatred tried to get my attention._

"_Um... Jonouchi-san?"_

_I mentally rolled my eyes, just barely keeping from doing so physically. How many times have I told him to call me by my first name? My last name makes me feel creepy, like he thinks I'm my brother or something. "Sorry... yeah?"_

"_Uh... Uh... I... Well, what I mean is... Are you... busy tonight? I was thinking maybe we could go see a movie, or..."_

_I gape at him. He's sweating like crazy, and his eyes are looking anywhere but at me. Is this the first time he's ever asked a girl out, or what? Every reply from 'Sorry, but I am busy. Some other time...?' to 'Grow a pair of breasts and maybe I'll consider' went through my head. But in the end I had to take pity on him. "I'm sorry, but I actually am busy. Some other time, maybe...?"_

...And would you believe, the poor guy went home after that? He just kind of muttered something, and wandered off. The boss had her second hissy fit, pretty good for only eight thirty. What? Oh, believe me, it _can_ get worse...

_I glanced up from where I was ringing in a sale, as my boss came in with the cordless phone in her hand. "Call for you, Shizuka," she said, shooting me a sympathetic-if-frazzled look before handing me the phone and leaving again._

_I eyed the phone with apprehension for a moment before putting it to my ear. When she'd brought it out I'd hoped for a moment that it might be Mai; that would be just the pick-me-up I would need. But I really didn't like that look. "Moshi-moshi?"_

"_Shizuka, hello! It's your mother, dear."_

_I blanched. Oh no... After it came out that Mai and I were together, my mom and I had had a bit of a falling out. I'd wound up moving away, which is why I had to get a job at seventeen. I didn't want Mai to have to support me in the first place, and then she lost her job... Back to the present, Shi. "Um, hi mom. How are you?"_

"_I'm fine. How is school going?"_

_I twitched. She knew that when I got a job, I'd had to drop out of Domino High and take Internet courses instead, so I probably wouldn't be graduating as soon as most people. Nice guilt trip, mom. "Just great," I said, my voice dripping with cheerfulness. Oh yeah. "Look, I hate to cut this short, but I have a customer waiting." This I said, as my eyes scanned the completely and utterly vacant shop._

_So we exchanged good-byes, and I took a moment to collect myself before going back to return the phone to my boss. My mother always called at such unexpected times... like she wanted to be good and sure I would be emotionally unprepared... I'd really given up a lot for this romance, hadn't I? I'd wrecked a relatively stable relationship with my mom, I'd half-way dropped out of school and gotten a job, I'd moved to this sleazy part of town to live with her... And I couldn't help but smile. Because it was all worth it, wasn't it?_

...So I lied to her about having a customer, and got off. Yeah, I guess I do kinda regret it, but that's how things go, right? The rest of the work day went okay, thank gods. Just boring, but I'm used to that. I've been working there for almost a half a year now. I usually spend all day reading the merchandise between customers, so it's all good. No, that's not it. That doesn't explain how I wound up walking home, right...?

_Y'know, there's something I've never been able to understand about people. Do they think that maybe, since they're not getting wet, it might not actually be raining out there? For crying out loud... "Slow down, you ass!" I screamed at the car zipping passed me._

_Then I shifted a little in my seat, smooth out my hair, smoothed out my skirt, and checked my lipstick in the rear-view mirror. I've developed a lot of nervous habits lately; I wonder why? Even when no one could actually hear me, I really don't think I would have said something like that a few years ago. I think I need to start listening to one of those drive-home radio programs or something; maybe it would help me relax..._

_I actually did turn the radio on after a few more minute of crazy city driving, resolving to listen to it more often in an effort to preserve my sanity. I usually try to keep distractions down to a minimum when I'm driving, since I've been doing it for less than a year. Plus I don't have much time for music these days, and I've lost all track of what's popular. It makes me feel frighteningly old, but oh well. My theory is correct; a mere few minutes of music makes me significantly less irritated at my fellow drivers._

_You remember how I said I didn't like distractions when I was driving? That was maybe just a bit smarter than I thought. Perhaps if I hadn't been listening to the radio I might have seen the lady in the big SUV pulling out of the Wal-Mart at high speed in time to get out of her way. Maybe there wouldn't have been a huge crunching noise, and maybe I wouldn't have found myself a few moments later checking to make sure I still had all my limbs and that I wasn't bleeding anywhere. I didn't discover any major injuries, but I did discover a sudden and intense hatred for popular music._

_And when I got out of the car, I also discovered that my car had been totaled. The SUV seemed to be fine, but the young lady who had been driving it had 'law suit' stamped all over her forehead._

Okay, you're right, I don't think it can get much worse at _this _point. The lady was hauled off by the police for questioning - apparently the alcohol tester was _not_ very friendly with her - and serves her right, too. The cop said something about even if I settled out of court, I'd probably be able to get enough to fix the car, so I don't think I'm exactly doomed or anything. Except for the next, y'know, week or two. The cop offered to drive me home, but being the model citizen I am - obviously the cop hadn't heard about what happened to his buddy this morning - I said it was just a couple blocks so I could walk, thanks. Only it gets just a little worse, because then it started to rain again...

Wow, I'm sorry; I really went off, huh? I'll bet you weren't exactly expecting my life story, heh. No, really, I'm sorry. Well, thanks for sharing your umbrella. This is my building, so bye...

_Shizuka dropped her coat on the couch and smiled a little. She could smell dinner cooking. So nice of Mai to not only cook, but to do it after job-hunting all day. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that perhaps doing something besides take-out might be in celebration of a long-awake success on the job front..._

_But it did more than that when she stepped into the small kitchen. Mai stood with her back to the door in front of the stove, cursing cutely at it. She wore a short skirt and half-top, Shizuka could tell, under an apron. And her hair was pulled back under a bandana. Aw, how adorible. She giggled, and Mai hurriedly looked over her shoulder. And grinned, and walked over, and kissed her hello..._

_What a wonderful day._

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**A/N**: Aw, that was fun :) If weird. I know Shizuka seemed incredibly out of character, but I tried to hint in a few places that she's gone through a lot and it's changed her personality. Consider it an experiment in what would happen to person A if experience B happened to her. It's amazing how upset this gets some people. Can anyone see Mai in a bandana? And an apron? . The pain... Sorry, couldn't resist ;) R&R?


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